Nightmares
by Rurouni Tyriel
Summary: (COMPLETED) The X-Men are experiencing their most dreadful, fear-filled nightmares. And worse... they can't seem to wake up. Professor X has gone into their minds to save them, but can anyone truly save them from their own worst fears?
1. I

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own X-Men Evolution, though I wish I did.

**Summary:**

The X-Men are experiencing their most dreadful nightmares.  And worse... they can't seem to wake up.  Takes place right after 'Ghost of a Chance' but prior to 'Ascension.'

Kurt went flying through the air, but thankfully he didn't hit the far building as a telepathic hand grabbed him gently in mid-air, helping him to land gracefully back down on his feet.  Scott slapped the side of his visor and let loose an optic blast that lanced into the side of the Juggernaut, but his aim was off and all it did was knock Cain's shoulder back, throwing off his balance for a millisecond.  Still, it was enough to help, as Rogue leapt atop of the behemoth's back and undid another latch before being forced to retreat.

Finally the battle was over, as Cyclops blasted Juggernaut's helmet clean off his head, leaving him vulnerable to psychic barrage.  Turning, the great red behemoth turned and ran, retreating from the fight and leaving the X-Men, who once again let him go.  They had more important matters to attend to.

"Ooooh..." grumbled Kitty, holding her bruised head.  "Remind me never to sneak up on Juggernaut again... especially when he's throwing a car around."

"Least you veren't tossed around like a verddamit sack of potatoes," grumbled Kurt.  "I nearly got my head smashed like a pumpkin."

"Alright, that's enough," interrupted Scott, relaxing now that the threat was over.  "Let's head home and call it a night... its already way too late."

"What?  Past your bedtime?" asked Kurt with his usual humor.  Kitty giggled.

The walk home took place mostly in silence, few willing to talk after an exhausting battle against Professor Xavier's half-brother.  On their way back to the mansion a number of them noticed the passing by little kids in costumes, and a few of them smiled when they caught sight of some of the younger, innocent kids, enjoying the holiday season.

"So Kurt, how did your date with Amanda go?  I didn't see you two at the halloween dance," asked Kitty.  Most of the X-Men had decided to go to the dance, in uniform instead of costume, but they'd run into trouble with the Juggernaut and been forced to bail out early.  By now it would be long over, it was already 2am, according to Kurt's watch.

"We didn't attend," replied Kurt soberly.  "Amanda and I had a private dance on the track field," he added with a wistful smile.

"I hope dance is all you did," remarked Jean, in what most of them recognized as her 'motherly' voice.  Sometimes, more annoying than Scott's 'leader' voice.

"Of course," snapped back Kurt, weary from the long night and the equally difficult battle.  "I'm mature."

"The words Kurt Wagner and mature do not go tagether unless ya'll put 'isn't' between them," remarked Rogue.  Kurt chuckled, willing to admit it was a good joke even if it was poking fun at him.  Right now he didn't care.  All he wanted was about 40 good winks and a nice, clean dream about his liebchen.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scott lay down on his bed, in his sleeping clothes, his nightglasses firmly wrapped around his head, to prevent him from accidenlty waking up in the middle of the night and blowing a hole clear through the ceiling.  Despite his fatigue, however, and the many aches his body had gained in the fight, he couldn't sleep.  His brain was abuzz with activity, mostly thoughts around his future.  That is, if many people had a future once Apocalypse finished whatever he was doing in those mutant domes.

Sighing, Scott shifted, laying atop of the covers, his eyes open as he stared up at the ceiling, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the next room, Kurt Wagner lay suspended upside down from the chandelier, writing his journal upside down, as he was wont to do before bed each night.  His entries of late had been growing longer and longer, he noticed.  His life with the X-Men certainly didn't lack excitement, though some things he could've done without.  Still, he could see a happy tone returning to his own writing, and he was glad for his sister Rogue making peace with herself.

Tonight was a special night for him, being one of the few he could actually walk around without a need for a holowatch (provided no one came too close) and even better, more time he could spend with Amanda.  He'd been amazed when he saw her at the school, decked out in a cute little sorceress costume.  She'd been absolutely radiant, and he'd been hard pressed to keep himself civil when they'd been dancing out on the track field, alone in the moonlight.  His tail hadn't been, and more than once he'd had to lightly smack it for slipping up under the skirt of her sorceress robes.  But she'd just giggled and said it tickled her.

She's one in a million Kurt, he told himself.  Don't ever let her go.

Finishing his entry, Kurt Wagner changed into his sleeping shirt and trousers and slid under the covers of his bed, placing his journal in its appropriate drawer and his holowatch ont he dresser.  Then he closed his yellow eyes and let sleep overtake him.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kitty Pryde shifted under her covers, sighing contently, the drapes closed, the dreamcatcher hanging over her bed.  She smiled to herself, remembering how her newfound friend Danielle had given it to her before she'd left, saying it would protect her from bad dreams.

It was really a shame Danielle couldn't stay and be an X-Man, like she had been in her dream, but she wanted to go home and spend some time with her grandfather for a while.  Kitty understood, but hoped she would be back.

Sighing, her blue eyes closed, she drifted off to sleep, her dragon plushie (named affectionately Lockheed) cuddled in her arms.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rogue was up late, showering, the steamy hot water rushing over her body as she tilted her head back.  Sometimes she imaged the stream of water as the hands of another, as if she could actually touch someone and feel them touch her, without her deadly gift getting in the way.

Grumbling, she shut off the flow of water and slid out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying herself off, ruffling her auburn and white locks.  She wiped the steam away from the mirror and took a long moment to study her own features, thinking for what must've been the millionth time... why me?  Why did she have to get the most horrible gift a mutant could have?  Even Scott could live a more normal life than she could.

Sighing deeply, reminding herself again that questioning wouldn't help herself, she dressed in her green and orange pajamas (a gift from Kitty, who else would have such awful taste?) and walked back into her new room, laying down under the covers and closing her eyes.  Sleep came almost immediately, and she drifted off into the dreamworld.  A place she sometimes considered better than reality.  A place where her mom and dad were nice, normal people, where she could touch anyone, and sometimes (these dreams she kept to herself) where Scott loved her more than Jean.

Though for some reason, lately her dreams of Scott had vanished to be replaced by a suava Cajun with red on black eyes and an ego the size of Lousiana.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jean Grey finished brushing her hair, a nightly tradition with her, and telekinetically sent her brush to its proper place on her dresser.  With equal ease she lifted up the covers and floated over to her bed, sliding underneath and drawing the covers up over her with the power of her mind.  Another telekinetic blip and the light switch flipped, plunging the room into sweet, blessed darkness.

Jean Grey fell into a quiet, untroubled sleep

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upstairs in the loft, Ororo Munroe slept contently in her miniature arboretum, among the plants she loved and nurtured as much as any of the students at the Institute.  The moonlight shone through the sunroof, filtering down across her serene features as she dreamed.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Downstairs, in the lab, Hank and Xavier, though very sleepy, had stumbled upon a great discovery in regards to the energy domes Apocalypse had erected, and despite their fatigue pressed on, coffee mugs near their computer screens as they continued their work, hoping to find a dent in Apocalypse's armor that could be exploited.  Logan dropped by every so often with some more coffee, but he wasn't too sleepy.  Another benefit of his healing factor allowed him to go days without sleep or rest, even though he'd been out most of the other night searching for Mesmero.

The three adult mutants continued their respective work, while the rest of the Institute slept soundedly.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moonlight shined down on the Institute, illuminating it with a soft, eerie glow.  The carved pumpkins outside, even with their happy smiley faces (Kitty's work, mostly) still seemed very ominous in the light.  By the edge of the woods, just outside the gates, two figures appeared.  One was clad in dark robes, their color lost in the darkness of the shadows that engulfed him.  The other was more simply dressed, tunic and trousers, sandals on her feet.

_Now... destroy them all, my pawn_, said the first, thoug his lips did not move.

The girl complied, her dark, haunted eyes narrowing in concentration.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

And my curse of writer's block has been lifted!  And just in time for Halloween, how wonderful.  A story for All Hallow's Eve, inspired by 'Ghost of a Chance' and an equally chilling JL episode of a similar nature.  As always, reviews welcome and even needed for my continued existence.


	2. II

It was a pleasant evening, the night sky a light with thousands of sparkling stars against the ebon night sky.  Scott Summers was on top of the world.

Or at least, in Paris, the most romantic city in the world.  He could see the Eiffel Tower from here, but that wasn't where his attention was focused.  It was on the gorgeous red-headed woman across from him, in a brilliant, sparkling green strapless dress that molded against her figure.  And he could finally see her, his sunglasses gone.  He could see her ivory-white skin, her crimson-red hair, and her brilliant green eyes in crystal clarity.

Her attention shifted to the menu between them, and Scott reluctantly turned his from gazing at her to his own, deciding on what to eat.  He didn't want to appear too eager, after all.  Romantic.  Girls like romantic.  Not just any girl, he reminded himself.  Jean Grey.

Suddenly a tiny blast of optic red energy lanced from  his eyeballs, slicing through the menu as he blinked, watching in confusion.  That wasn't supposed to happen.  How did...?

His question was interrupted as another optic blast shot into their table, leaving a nice, smoking hole.  Belatedly Scott closed his eyes, checking the pockets of his expensive suit for his ruby quart sunglasses.

"Scott?  Is something wrong?" asked Jean, leaning forward in curiosity.

"I... I don't know," he replied.  "I just..."

Suddenly a blast of optic energy ripped outward, and Scott was unable to keep his eyes clsoed.  The bright, brilliant blast of energy rocketed out of his head before he could cover his eyes, and was headed right towards...

"JEAN!!"

A millisecond, and it was over.  The brilliant red energy shot straight through Jean's body, slicing clean through her delicate bone, muscle, and skin and right out her back, even as Scott covered his eyes with his hands, desperate to contain the raw red energy that was seeping forth around his fingers.  Besides, he admitted privately to himself, the back of his eyelids was a much more pleasant sight to see Jean's emerald green dress stained with blood.

"Jean?!  Oh god I'm coming, hold on..." he shouted, even as the room filled with screams and various curses.  He ignored them all, as he blindly reached forward with one hand, his other clamped firmly over his eyes, seeking Jean.  He couldn't find her.  He needed to hurry, she could be badly hurt.  She could be dying for all he knew.  He needed to find her.  "Help!  Somebody help me!  I can't see!!"

"Big bro!" came a voice. "It's okay I got her!"

"Alex?  What're you doing here?" asked Scott, raising his head and making his way forward, towards his little brothers voice.  This proved to be a mistake, as he suddenly tripped over an overturned chair and fell forward.  Instinctively his hands came down to brace his fall, even as he realized his error, and sought to correct it, but it was far too late.  Again ruby-red energy poured from his forced open eyes, slicing through the unsuspecting body of his blonde-haired brother...

"Noooo!!"

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door broke down easily, and Wolverine rushed in, placing a hand on Scott's shoulder to keep him down, he was tossing and turning.

"Easy Cyke, wake up... its just a nightmare..." he said, even as Scott continued to thrash wildly.  "Wake up!  Just wake up," he added, giving Scott a less than gentle tap to rouse him.  It did no good.  He continued to cry out, shouting Jean and his brother's name and a number of other things, but none of it made any sense.  Whatever it was, it didn't sound pleasant.

_Charles?  Something's seriously wrong with Scott_, he projected to the Professor mentally.

That's when the others started screaming.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kitty smiled, dipping gracefully through the air, swooping and laughing with happiness, free as the birds who flapped their wings alongside her, envious of her ability to fly without need of wings.  Angel would be jealous, she thought with a giggle, as she somersaulted through the air and swooped down along the cloud cover.  Diving through the thick white clouds she lifted back up again, her brown ponytail flowing back behind her, brushing against the back of her pink sweater.  She couldn't even feel the cold at being so high up, just the cool wind against her face as she closed her eyes and flew upwards.

Suddenly the wind beneath her body suddenly was above her body, and her stomach lurched as she started to plummet.  She screamed, as she dove down into the clouds and emerged on the other side, the landscape below her rushing up to meet her as the high speed stole the breath from her lungs.

Dimly, she noticed she slowed as the ground hurried up to meet her, slowing gradually, barely, slowly, until she just barely smacked down onto the ground.  Apart from feeling a great deal of pain otherwise uninjured.  No broken bones, no shattered limbs, and most importantly, she hadn't had her entire body liquefied by the impact.

"Oh thank god," she whispered, bending down to kiss the ground thanks for sparing her life.  Except when she did, it tasted like something else... not hard and dry...  but soft and wet... like... Kitty drew her head back, and almost wretched in horror.

Worms!

Worms forming a pair of lips, which grinned up at her.

"Hey pretty-kitty..." they said, with a voice she knew all too well.  Kitty screamed, backing up fearfully, as the ground beneath her shifted, reshaping, into the likeness of Lance Alvers, in his battle gear.  His body was made of dirt and grass, but it was unmistakably his features.  Though he looked much more malevolent than the Lance Alvers Kitty knew.

"I told you couldn't run... and now I get to rock your world!" he said, laughing wickedly as he stretched out his hands, fingers spread, and stomped the ground, making it shake all around Kitty.  Deep crevices split into the earth, and Kitty fell right into one, screaming all the way down...

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kitty... Kitty... wake up... Kitty..." said Hank, shaking her shoulder as she tossed and turned in her sleep, moaning in pain.  But despite all his efforts, Hank could not waken her.

_Hank.  Gather the students affected and bring them down to the medical bay.  We can more closely observe them there._

_Understood._

Hank gently picked up Kitty, who looked pathetically fragile in his great blue arms, and carried her with him respectfully to the medical center.  Along the way, he took Scott from Logan, who moved on to respond to the next dreamer.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jean walked the halls of Bayville High.  It was dark, the lights were out, and only a minimum of light poured in from the windows.

"Hello?" she whispered softly.  Her voice echoed down the empty hallways, along the cold metal of the lockers.  "Is anyone here?"

An eerie music filled the hallway as she moved on, searching for signs of life.  For anyone.  It was so terribly dark here, and lonely.  She shivered, rubbing her arms in a futile attempt to retain body warmth.  Warmth that seemed to be leeched out of her body by the cold emptiness of Bayville High.

Suddenly one of the door opened, and Jean froze, watching fearfully.  It had opened out towards her, so she could not yet see who lay behind it.  For some reason however, a sudden chill ran down her spine.

"He... hello?" she whispered quietly.

A laughter answered her, a jolly, out-of-place laughter, as the person in question came into view.  A dark, wicked looking clown, laughing evilly, its features distorted beyond what any normal human being could achieve.  Its evil features painted garish reds and whites as it laughed more, moving in towards Jean, its arms outstretched.

The red-head gave a shriek, turning to run, as fast as she could down the dark hallway of the school.  The clown followed, no faster than a walking pace, yet whenever Jean glanced over her shoulder she could still see it behind her, no further away than before.  She added on speed.  Suddenly another dark clown, this one much taller, laughing evilly, appeared in her path, and she ducked down a T-intersection to avoid it, now with both clowns following her... and they were gaining on her rapidly.

Finally she hit a dead end, watching in horror.  She stretched out her hand, trying to push them back with her telekinesis, but her efforts failed, and the clowns found only amusement in this.  They kept laughing evilly as they advanced on Jean, and she was utterly helpless.

The corridor suddenly burst into open flames, engulfing the clowns, but stopping just short of Jean Grey, as the clowns melted away into nothingness in the inferno.  A dark figure stepped into view, hidden partially by the flames as Jean watched in horror.  What new evil had replaced the old?

The figure stepped into view, the flames lighting the dark figures face, though they did not touch her, as if afraid to do so.  Her, yes -her-, face framed by a mane of red hair that Jean recognized all too well, having seen it often enough in her own mirror.

It was Jean herself.

She wore a tight fitting uniform similar to Jean's own, but no red X's adorned the shoulders, no green stripe graced the middle of front and back.  Instead the symbol of a golden bird adorned the darker Jean's chest, and a equally golden sash was wrapped around her slender waist, billowing in an unseen wind.

"Who... who are you?" whispered Jean fearfully, backing up against the wall she'd been corned against.

"I am Jean Grey," replied her darker counterpart.  "I am that which gives you your power.  I am what makes you beyond any human or mutant on this pitiful planet.

Jean started to protest, but the words impacted her so deeply, she could think of no reply to her counterpart.  "Now..." she beckoned, and Jean felt herself rise up into the air, floating slowly towards her darker self.  "Come and be one with me... embrace the power that is rightfully yours."

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jean was quieter than most of the other patients lined out in the ward, but she still tossed and turned fitfully.  Beside her, Scott and Kitty had been sedated to keep them under control, and their former screams and thrashings had been reduced to simple moans of discomfort.  Still, it was but a temporary solution at best.

The night went on, and the dreams got worse.  And more patients joined those in the infirmary.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

Horrifying, isn't it?  Poor Scott, Kitty and Jean.  Next chapter: Kurt, Ororo and Rogue's nightmares.  Much, much more horror to come, as I have particularily evil plans in store for those three.

Kinomi: Oh you'll see soon enough, Kinomi-chan.

Todd fan: Glad you like, and I know, it must be a pain not being able to see the new episodes where you live.  I feel your pain.

Rogue14: Believe you me, it is about to get better.


	3. III

It was very hot, and stuffy, and Kurt jolted up, his yellow eyes wide as he realized where he was.  It was the flaming, unholy dimension he passed through when he teleported, the dimension filled with the red demon-dinosaurs that had attacked him and Logan, and even followed him into the real world.  And worse, he was surrounded by the snarling, tooth-filled visages of such creatures now.  Completely surrounded.

Kurt sprang to his feet into a fighting stance, though he was more likely to teleport far, far away from here as quickly as possible, when he noticed something odd.  They weren't attacking.

Instead the creatures were only regarding Kurt curiously, like dogs would something they didn't recognize.

"Do not fear, Kurt," said a harsh voice from behind him.  Kurt whirled around, and gasped.  "They would not hurt one of their own."

"Muzzer?" he asked, watching as Mystique leapt gracefully from one rock on cropping to another, landing gracefully before Kurt.  She'd changed a lot since he'd last seen her.  She wore a black version of her originally white uniform, studded with gold skulls along her belt and one in the middle of her forehead.  But that wasn't all.  Her teeth were longer and sharpened, pressing against her lower lip in a frightening grin, and at her temples two short blue horns poked out.  She truly looked evil now.

"Ah, my son... finally come to join me.  How sweet," she remarked coldly.  Kurt frowned, making his way cautiously towards her, still ready to 'port in case the demons attacked.

"Vhat is going on?  Vhat is dis place?" he asked.  Mystique's reply was a short, joyless laugh.

"You haven't figured it out by now, my son?" she asked wickedly, baring her sharpened teeth.  Nightcrawler gulped and took a step, not at all sure he'd like the answer.

"You're home."

"Home?"

"This is Hell, my son... the home of all demon-spawn," replied Mystique haughtily, but Kurt felt his gut tie itself in a knot.

"I'm not a demon... I'm human.  I just look strange, is... ahhhh!!" he cried out, groaning, clutching his head as he sunk to his knees.  Mystique had made no gesture, but neither did she rush to aid him as Nightcrawler's skull was split with pain, it was if it was tearing itself apart.  Worse, his fingers and toes felt the same, as did his back.  His body was engulfed in agony, as he screamed for release.

Growling, Kurt's head sprouted two terrible horns, one on each temple, no longer than Mystique's.  In horror, he watches as his hands and feet sprouted terrible, deadly claws, and from his back sprouted great navy blue and black bat wings.  Demon wings.  Kurt screamed, in pain, in fear, in denial.  He wasn't a demon, he wasn't an animal!  He was human!

Only here, he wasn't.

"Nooooooo!!!"

Mystique stood by quietly as Kurt sank to his knees, slamming his fist into the ground, his cheeks stained with tears as he fought against the reality of his newfound existence.

"It's a lie..."

"It is the truth, Kurt... now come with me, the latest guest into Hell deserves our attention," she stated, her back shifting, sprouting her own set of demonic wings, as she took off into the air.  Having little choice, Kurt spread his own hated wings and followed after her.

They flew overhead the damned abode in silence, Kurt mastering fairly quickly his new appendages, flapping his wings every so often, but mostly allowing the current to carry him.  Below them, writhed a thousand and more damned souls, caught in the pits of fire and surrounded on all sides by demons content to tear them to shreds.  Not quite the Hell he'd envisioned from his teaching, but it was as appropriate a label for this place as any.

"Ah... there she is now," pointed Mystique, into a small cluster of the red demons prominent in the realm.  She landed alongside them, and they parted aside at her approach, revealing the new prisoner's identity to Kurt.

Tattered jeans, torn red t-shirt, bracelets covered her form.  Dark chocolate skin, beautiful doe brown eyes, and a sweet, heartbroken expression.

"Amanda..."

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ororo ran down the streets, down the back alleys, into the darkness of the night, the moonlight shining down on her as she ran.  Behind her, the darkness surged after her, seeking her, and she ran faster.  Panting heavily, she dared a glance back, to see the dark, robed figure who'd been after her.  His features were concealed in the shadows of his cowl, but Ororo knew damn well who it was.  And she could not allow herself to be captured by him.  Not again.

She ran down a back alley, stumbling, and falling full on her face.  Grimly she noticed her elbow was bleeding from a cut where she'd stumbled, but she paid it no heed.  She stumbled back to her feet, preparing to run again.

Only there was no where to run to.

The area around her had shifted during her fall, and she found herself now in an ancient egyptian tomb, much like she'd seen in her youth while living in Egypt.  The walls covered in ancient heiroglyphics, chiselled and drawn into the stone.  The small room itself held the giant stone sarcophagus, and she stared at it fearfully.  She had seen enough horror movies to know what could and likely would happen next.

Whatever she'd been prepared for, it wasn't enough.

The great, loud, shifting of stone caused her to glance behind her, as the tomb started to seal shut, and she ran for the exit, only to watch in horror as the great, foot thick stone door slammed into place.  A loud crash of finality was heard, and dust filled the air as the room went dark, all light lost.

"Nooo!!  Let me out!!" she screamed, slamming her fists against the door.  Unsurprisingly, it didn't even crack.  Howling, she stepped back, filling her fingertips with lightning and shot it at the stone barricade that separated her from the outside.

"Let me out!!" she howled, blasting it again, and again, and again, panting for breath as the air became thin.  Belatedly she stopped, out of energy for the moment as she fell to her knees, gasping for breath, her eyes crackling violet-white with unspent lightning.

Suddenly a slow, eerie creaking of stone against stone caught her attention.  Ororo, slowly, fearfully, turned back to face the sarcophagus, which was sliding open.  She shivered, already seeing any number of horrible things emerging from it.  Any number of things that would attack and destroy her.

To her surprise, it was empty, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

But then she noticed some of the hieroglyphics above it, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw that they were not written in ancient egyptian.  It was plain, ordinary english.  One word, one ominous word that spelled her doom.

'Ororo'

A pair of thin white cloths shot from the sarcophagus, wrapping around Ororo's wrists as she screamed, struggling, trying to get away.  More, similar, bandages slashed out, wrapping around her waist, her ankles, even as she struggled.  Suddenly her legs were yanked together at the ankle and she was enwrapped in the bandages.  She tripped and fell forward, her nails digging into the ground in a vain attempt to hold herself in place as she was slowly, steadily, dragged back.   She tried to scream but they wrapped over her mouth, leaving only her eyes uncovered as she was suddenly yanked back into the sarcophagus.  Her muffled screams filled the air as she struggled against the bandages as they tightened around her, and she watched in horror as the stone lid of the sarcophagus slowly slid shut, entrapping her within.

She continued to scream, but against the bandages, through the stone lid, past the stone barrier of the tomb, and further out into the vast egyptian desert, no one heard her.  She was buried alive.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dark, cold, empty.

A graveyard, filled with old stone slabs that bore the name of those interred in the cold earth.  Here and there a marble statue breached the desolate landscape, the visions of angels watching over the deceased, a comforting sight in the darkness.  It did little to warm her, however.

Rogue walked along the path between stones, shivering in the cold, mist filled air.  It seeped between the graves and along her booted feet, making her shiver.  It felt like the claws of death were firmly wrapped around her spine.  Her green see-through blouse wasn't doing much to warm her either, or the black halter beneath it.  And certainly not the short black skirt wrapped around her legs.

The auburn-haired girl glanced around, seeing nothing.  Just endless rows of gravestones, interlaced by the rising mists, and every so often a marble angel or a stone mausoleum marred the otherwise uniform landscape.  The silent night air suddenly was split by a low, eerie moaning, and Rogue glanced about, searching for its source, though she could not find it in the thickening fog.  Her green eyes narrowed, but the white mist obscured everything.

Suddenly a hand shot out of the ground, grabbing her foot, and she yanked her leg away instinctively, even as she looked down.  The hand was gray, decayed, and filthy, the nails long and wickedly sharp.  Rogue stumbled backwards, as the hand rose, bringing with it a arm, a shoulder, and finally a head as a decaying corpse rose from the ground in front of her, the dirt of the grave still clinging to it.

Worse, it was a corpse she knew.

This particular corpse, though it was hard to identify by its simple black and tattered garb, was female.  With a brown, very distinct ponytail and dead, cold white eyes.  It was the corpse of Katherine Pryde.

Rogue turned, horrified, as the zombie rose and stumbled after her, but another such corpse rose up in front of her, this time a male, just slightly taller than she was.  Brown hair and the distinct ruby red sunglasses identified him, though the lenses were now cracked and damaged.

"Scott..." she murmured fearfully.  He seemed to hear her, for his head lifted and he advanced on her, much as the zombie Shadowcat had done.  Rogue backed up fearfully, glancing back and forth at the advanced zombies, and started to run left when another appeared in her vision, and a second behind it.  Frizzy, burnt red hair and the cold green gaze from the first.  Jean.  And the second was easy to identify by its blue fur.  Kurt.

Rogue turned around ran from the gathering circle of her former friends, now dead, who swarmed around her.  More zombies appeared, all people she knew, though some she did not now call friends.  Magneto, the Juggernaut, Sabertooth, Fred and Toad all arose from the earth, all dead, all decayed, and moaning as they sought vengeance against the one who had killed them.

Rogue.

"You killed us..." they moaned, swarming her, forcing her back up against one of the marble angels, as she desperately tried to keep distance between herself and them.  More zombies arose, humans she'd absorbed.  Punks from that carjacking ring, thieves from Bloodmoon Bayou, even Cody, all dead, all seeking her.

But they stopped in a tight circle around her, and for a moment she watched them fearfully as they seemed to be waiting for something.  Suddenly a cracking, shattering sound came, and she glanced upwards at the statue.  To her surprise, it wasn't an angel, now that she could see it up close.  It was... Mystique.  Cracking, breaking apart, her expression one of horror as she shattered in stone fragments again, as Rogue watched in horror.

The fragments hit the ground, but to Rogue's further surprise the dead, lifeless stone shifted, turning into serpents.  Great king cobras of gold and black that slithered up around her, sliding along her legs and up her waist as the zombies pressed forward, intent to tear her limb from limb.

"Help!!" she screamed.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the real world, more beds were laid out in the infirmary.  And more patients were being added by the hour.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

Next time, plans are enacted to rescue the X-Men from their horrible nightmares.  But  can anyone truly save them?  I rather liked doing these last three, since they give me so much material to work with.

Kinomi: Yes yes, working on as we speak.

Lupine Draconis: Well there you have it, my idea of what the X-Men's worst nightmares would be.  How did I do?

Todd fan: Not as spooky as your legend of Plunky.  I mean, that's scary.

Banshee: Oh I will, but I'm a Rurouni, not a captain.  Rurouni is my title.  But thanks anyway.

Mannielf18: Oh hush you.  Do you know how hard it is to convey horror through writing?

SapphireMind: Well, there you are.  What do you think?

Rogue14: Scary enough for ya?  No?  Me neither... more to come.


	4. IV

"Bobby, finish your meal," remarked his mother quietly, sipping her own drink.  It was a typical family gathering at the Drakes: mother, father, and both sons, all gathered around the table.

"Yes Mom," he replied, reluctantly reaching down with his fork to spear the remaining peas on his plate.  To his shock, however, his fork was coated in a thin layer of ice.  When he touched the plate, it shattered, and he jerked his hand back.

"Bobby, is something wrong?" asked his mother, making her way towards him.  "Let me see your hand..."

"Mom I don't..." he started to protest, but she grabbed his hand anyway.  She gasped in shock as a terrible cold rolled over her, and her body froze instantly, covered in a thin layer of ice.  Bobby watched in horror, yanking his hand back, but the force was too great, and his hand was still touching hers.  Her own hand was ripped off, and her body cracked, slowly, and shattered into a million bloody fragments all over the carpet.  Bobby's father and brother started yelling, back up from him in horror.

"It wasn't my fault!" he protested, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm.  However, they started to ice over again, and his body was slowly engulfed, as he tilted his head back and started to scream, but it was frozen in his throat as he turned into a solid icy statue of himself.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sudden rocking motion jolted Amara awake, as she groaned, lifting her head.  To her surprise, she was on a ship from Nova Roma, traveling out into the ocean.  She started to lift herself up, demanding they return home, but stopped short when she noticed she was wrapped in a number of iron chains, keeping her pinned.

Two rather large men in typical Nova Roma garb grabbed her arms and lifted her up, as a third, the captain, made his way over to her.  He spat at her feet.

"Now you get the fate you deserve... mutie," he said to her, as he motioned to another crewman to toss an anchor over the side.  Amara watched in horror, confused.  Why were they doing this to her?  Mutie or not, she was a Royal Princess of Nova Roma, damnit!

She was about to voice such protest when she was hauled bodily off her feet and she noticed one horrible fact about the anchor: it was attached to her chains.

Amara screamed as she was drawn into the cold, dark depths of the water, being dragged down.  Her scream left her with little air in her lungs.  Belatedly she tried to power up and melt the chains, but her power her was useless, under the water.  And so she sank to the bottom of the briny sea, helpless.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door creaked open slowly, and only a horrible sight awaited him.

Sam rushed in, nearly slipping on the blood of his parents and siblings, who's bodies littered the living room.  Some had been tossed about as casually as rag dolls, their limbs shattered.  Others had been sliced clean in two or ripped in half, by what he had no clue.  Even his little sister Paige had been decapitated her dark hair stained in her own blood as it oozed from the top of her neck.

Then an eerie sound cut the silence.  The sound of a chainsaw being revved, and Sam turned in horror to face the still open door he'd come in through...

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ray ran, splashing through the water, the Morlocks close behind him.  He dare not use his powers down here, he'd fry himself in the water.  As it was, he might not get the chance, Scaleface would rip him apart first.

Suddenly he tripped and stumbled, falling into the slime.  He pushes himself to his feet, glancing back, and it was too late.  The Morlocks were their, advancing on him with enraged, bloodthirsty expressions.

"It wasn't my fault..." said Ray fearfully, backing up until he hit a wall, watching fearfully.  "It wasn't my fault..." he continued to repeat, his voice weakening.  Among Morlocks, there was but one fate for traitors.

Death.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roberto had been exploring a cave when it happened.  A rockslide, covering the entrance.  He beat at it feebly with his fists, but without his powers or the sun to fuel them they were soon bloody, his knuckles split and bleeding.

Darkness closed in on all sides, and that was normally enough to frighten the dark-haired brazilian.  But far worse was the soft, very faint screeching.  Bats.

And it was getting louder as they got closer.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A knock, but no reply.  Hesitantly, Jamie opened the door.  The beds were empty, neither Ray or Roberto were in them, just the covers, neatly folded.  Jamie rushed out, opening the next door, and the next, and the next.  Desperate, he went into the women's wing, pounding on the doors and (against all good judgment, considering some of the X-Girl's tempers) opened them, but all around the Institute was as empty as a grave.

Jamie wandered around, searching for someone, anyone, but they were all gone.  In a big, fancy mansion, he was all alone.

All alone.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tabitha watched in horror, staggering back out of the kitchen and into the living room, her clothes covered in blood.

Her father came in after her, casually holding the knife he'd used to slice his mother's throat out.  Right in front of her eyes no less.  Tabitha stumbled, tripping over the end table and collapsing onto her back as her father advanced on her with a menacing expression in his eyes.

"Now that the bitch is out of the way, you're finally mine," he said quietly, holding up the knife.  "That is... unless you'd prefer to join her?"

Tabitha jumped to her feet and tried to run, but the door was locked.  She ran to the other end of the house, to the sliding glass pane door, but it too was locked.  Desperate, her blue eyes wide with fear she slammed her shoulder into the glass.  It cracked, but it did not break.  She ran up against it again and again, but her father grabbed her shoulder and threw her roughly to the ground.  Angrily, he tossed away the bloody knife and grabbed his belt, tearing it off and beating Tabitha with it repeatedly.  She threw up her hands to try and shield herself, but he was relentless as he whipped her.

She cried, begging for someone to help her, but of course no one was listening.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rahne struggled, squirming against her bonds, but the chains were bound too tightly, and her neck was chained to the thick wooden pole by silver collar, barely giving her enough room to breath, let alone change.  She squirmed, struggling, crying out for mercy, but no one heard her.

And if they did, they didn't care.

The mob had worked into a frenzy by now, all of those present brandishing flaming torches.  The sort you saw in movies about monsters in the late 19th century.  Only now, they weren't burning a monster, they were burning her.  Rahne cried, her eyes burning from the heavy smoke as the first of the torches was tossed into the pyre beneath her feet, and the flames started to rise.

Angrily she screamed at them.  "I'm not a werewolf!" she cried out, sobbing.  "I'm human!  Please, listen to me!"

The flames rose higher, starting to consume the wooden pole and the russet-haired wolf-girl chained to it.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jubilee screamed, squirming against the iron hand that held her, but she couldn't break free.  Angrily she launched her sparkler projectiles at the cold, iron face, but it didn't so much as dent the thick metal plating.

The cold, golden gaze of the sentinel regarded her for a moment, then its grip tightened.  Jubilathon Lee watched in horror as its chest compartment opened up, and a series of blasters took aim at her.  Very lethal, deadly looking blasts, which charged up with terrible blue energy.  She screamed again, covering her face, as if it would do any good....

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

New Recruits, courtesy of many, many requests to see all of the X-Men suffer. Hehe. I had to base most of them off of general knowledge, since I don't know a great deal about their comic counterparts, or their Evo pasts. Iceman's was inspired, of course, by his movie portrayal, and also by a passage in the X2 book. Amara's by Cruise Control. Sam's was actually a very subtle reference to 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' even though he's from Kentucky.

Kinomi: Ow! Ow! Ow! Hai, Kinomi-sama, working as hard as I can, ma'am! Ow! *dodges the bokken* Ow!

Todd fan: Awwww, did I scare you? Good! Muwahahahaha! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

Son of Logan and Ororo: Oh you have so little imagination.... or little desire to truly torment the New Recruits, and I suppose I can't blame you. They're so young. Fire and water are enemies, but that doesn't mean they fear one another. I did like your suggestions for the other two, however. As you've clearly seen.


	5. V

Beep.  Beep.  Beep.

The steady hum of equipment and the rythmic beep of the monitors was the only sound to mar the near perfect silence of the medical bay.  That and the tapping of keys as Hank McCoy, known to some as Beast, worked on the computer, trying to find some way of rousing his students.  To his disappointment, time and again he could find no way of reviving them.  By now the entire ward was filled, almost every available bed was out, even the three normally left for Xavier, Logan and himself were occupied by their three guests.  Tabitha, Rahne and Jubilee.

A pity their visit was not going to be the most pleasant of ones.

"Any luck Hank?" asked Xavier as he rolled into the room.  He looked quite exhausted, but wasn't about to rest when his students were in danger.  Even if it was from their own dreams.

"Nothing," he replied, removing his glasses and rubbing his sore eyes.  Hours of pouring over the computer screens without sleep were beginning to take their toll on him.  "I've run every conceivable test, administered every conceivable stimulant that I dare, and nothing has changed.  They remain in deep sleep," he added, indicating the sleeping forms of the fallen X-Men.

"I see..." replied Xavier, wheeling himself over to the bedside of Jean.  She was peaceful now, like the others, but he could see her eyes flickering back and forth rapidly behind her eyelids, and knew she was dreaming.  And it was not a pleasant dream.  Already Xavier could see mental glimpses and half-images of very terrible, very dark nightmares.

"I've exhausted every solution medical science has to offer," said Hank, turning his chair around to face his patients and Xavier.  Logan, leaning against the wall, quietly grunted.  All knew what his views of 'medical science' were.  Not positive, to say the least.

"It seems then we are dealing with a mutant problem... one we've never encountered before," stated Xavier quietly, steepling his fingers as he always did when he was deep in thought.  "Or perhaps we have."

"The Moonstar kid?" asked Logan, echoing his thoughts.

"Perhaps.  But if so, why would she attack the students?  She bears us no ill will," said Hank.

"The kids also very disturbed, Charles... she's had one hell of a ride in her life, no idea what she could be up to," replied Logan.

"I refuse to believe that," replied Xavier, studying the face of Jean Grey, as if he could therin find the key to saving her and the others.  "Perhaps more answers could be found inside the mind rather than in the body."

"That's risky Charles... we don't know what cause this.  You could easily end up just like them," Logan said.

"We might not have much choice," said Hank, drawing the attention of the two older men as he pointed to the life monitors above Scott, Kurt and Amara.  Both of their heart rates and pulses had started to jump.  Still well within safety measures, but still much higher than normal.  "Their life signs are starting to fluctuate... if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say their dreams are getting worse... and their minds simply can't handle the stress.  They're not going to make it unless something is done soon."

"Then I indeed have no choice left in the matter," replied Xavier, as he backed his chair up into the space between Jean's and Scott's beds, placing one hand gently on the redhead's temples and the other to his own as he closed his eyes.

"We'll be monitoring you Professor," said Beast, tapping the keyboard, still unwilling to believe he'd exhausted all he could do just yet.

"Be careful in there, chuck," added Logan.

Xavier nodded, thankful for the outside assistance.  Though where he was going, it wouldn't do a great deal of good.  He closed his eyes, concentrating, and with his telepathic powers slipped into the minds of his students to try and save them.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside the mansion, another figure was equally restless to end this, though in a far more negative manner.

Mesmero paced idly in the tiny clearing next to the Xavier Institute.  Nearby, his pawn had not moved from where she sat, indian-style, on the ground, her eyes narrowed, focused in concentration.  Mesmero smirked, enjoying the delicious irony of using the fool to destroy her own friends.  And then he would be able to return to Apocalypse, and the great mutant would praise him for destroying his enemies.

"Finally, I will be on the winning side again... and the enemies of Apocalypse will fall down and be destroyed," he murmured, watching the Institute.  Lights were on here and there, but for the most part it was dark and inert.  And they were far too away for even the dreadful animal, Wolverine, to detect either of them.  Just close enough for Mirage's powers, amplified a little by Mesmero, to reach her victims.

Again, Danielle's subconscious struggled against Mesmero, but he exerted only the barest fraction more of his power and quelled her.  Once under his control, few could break it unless he voluntarily released them.  That or lost consciousness.

A stifled yawn reminded Mesmero that time was short, and he mentally ordered Mirage to increase her power, and deepen the impact of the nightmares of her victims.  Within a short time their fears would destroy them, and Mesmero (and Apocalypse) would be rid of them forever.

Mesmero laughed evilly as Danielle's eyes glowed a soft, eerie blue, as her power increased.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

Xavier's going in!  Oh dear, he's up against two telepaths, can he do it?  Due to frequent (and loud) requests, I've added Tabitha, Jubilee, and Rahne.  But that's it, people!  They're, er, spending the night 'cause its Halloween.  Its a sleep-over or something.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Todd fan: That's it, no other characters to be introduced to the story.  And there's only one more character who will experience a nightmare, everyone else is done for.  No Warren, no Forge, no Brotherhood, no Acolytes, no X23.  Sorry.

Comet-hime: Alright, alright.  Tabitha nightmare now, Tabitha-Amara cute scene later.  Enough to give you plenty of fuel for all your artwork.

Son of Logan and Ororo: I mean no offense of course, and I understand, sleep deprivation can lead to stuff like that.  Actually I didn't see the movie, but I'm hoping too.

Gyuumajo: Of course there's more... I can't just leave them in those horrible nightmares... or can I now?

Amara Aquilla: Glad you like it, I did have to make it mostly from scratch, since we know so little about Evo Amara.  There'll be more to come, but sadly little more of the New Recruits.

Inuyasha0001: Glad you like it, more to come soon.

Lupine Draconis: Oh I'm sure they can be scared by more than this, but this seemed the best idea for me at the time.  Still, I'm rather pleased.

Rogue14: I know, poor kid.

Rogue Pryde: You mean... IF they wake up?!  Muwahahaha.

Cheeky-bear007: There they are.  Enjoy.

ManniElf18: Next chapter.  Same time, same place.

Queeno'ducttape: Poor everyone.  Don't worry... it will all be over soon... *evil soothing voice*


	6. VI

Scott lay curled up in a ball on the floor, his eyes pointed at the ground, closed tightly, covered by his hands and lids, for all the good it did.  All around him he could hear screams and worse, but he dare not open his eyes and look.  More people would get hurt.

"Scott?  Are ya ahlright?" came a soft southern drawl, and Scott almost lifted his head up.  He recognized that voice immediately.

"Rogue?  Get back... stay away from me," he said, keeping his eyes as tightly shut as he could, his hands over them, his body hunched over.  He felt a gloved hand being placed on his shoulder, and he flinched away from her.

"It's ahlright Scott... I'm here to help," she said softly, placing her hands over his.

"No... I'm dangerous... get away from me," he muttered, pushing her hands away, red energy seeping from his closed eyelids, though not yet in any sort of destructive blast.

"Scott," she said softly.  "Look at me... its perfectly safe," she said, almost happily, as she lifted up Scott's head to see her, and he could not keep his eyes closed any longer.  A bright, powerful blast of ruby-red energy shot from his eyes before he could close them or turn his head.  The blast slammed into Rogue and sent her flying, her body landing with a dull, sickening thud as he heard her neck snap, another victim of his optic blasts.

"Noooo!  Nooo... nooo..." he repeated, tears streaming down his cheeks as he destroyed those around him closest.  All because of this hated, accursed 'gift' of his.  "Make it stop," he sobbed quietly, sinking to the ground.

_Scott.... Scott...._

"Stay back, please... you'll just get hurt."

"Scott," said the Professor, speaking aloud now.  "This is not real... it's just a dream.  In any dream, you are in control.  You have the power to end this.  The power to take control of your eyes."

"That's not true... I've tried... I can't even keep my eyes shut anymore..." replied Scott bitterly, angrily.  "This isn't a gift... its a goddamn curse!"

"It's not real, Scott," replied the Professor, rolling his chair over towards Scott, who instinctively shied away, keeping himself tightly rolled up, his eyes covered, his entire body tense.  "What is happening here is all in your mind, real though it may seem."

"It's not a dream, Professor!  I killed them all... Jean, my brother... Rogue... I killed them all..."

"This is not real, Scott Summers," stated Professor X, his voice deepening, as waves of energy wafted throughout the room.  "This is your dream, and your mind.  You are the only one who can take control of your power now."

Scott moaned, thinking of all the damage had been done, all the people he had hurt.  Suddenly that started to lift, and he realized the Professor was helping him to focus.  With the despair of losing his friends and family, he could focus.  _My power_, he thought to himself.

"My power," he repeatedly aloud, quietly... as the energy dissipated, slowly, steadily, the power dropping considerably, then vanishing all together as Scott hesitantly removed his hands from his face, sitting upright.  Very, very fearfully, he cracked open a single eyelid, ready in an instant to cover it again should he be wrong.

He wasn't.

He could see, his vision was clear, colorful, and his powers were safely locked behind his eyelids, his to call upon whenever he pleased.  He had control.  Turning, he looked back at the destruction and carnage he had wrought, but it was all gone.  Everything was as crisp and new as if it had been built that very day.  Jean, Rogue, and Alex stood their, unharmed, not speaking.  But that indeed meant...

_Yes Scott.  It isn't real.  This all a dream._

"But...?" he started to ask, turning to face the Professor.

_The others are suffering as well.  I must see to them as well._

"I want to help," replied Scott.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come Jean," repeated her darker counterpart, beckoning her forward.  "It is your destiny... simply accept it."

Jean pondered the offer the other had made to her.  After all, what did she have to live for anymore?  A lifetime of being hated and feared, being called a freak and worse.  Yet she had such incredible power, why not use it for herself?  Why not do as she damn well pleased, and to hell with those who thought ill of her.  Or opposed her, she thought grimly.  I can finally repay Duncan and Taryn for all they've done to me.  I can put the Rogue in her place, and Kitty too.  I could be Queen of the World, she thought, and a smile touched her lips.

Jean Grey slowly took a hesitant step towards herself, stepping through the flames, which parted at the command of the dark woman, leaving a clear path for Jean to step forward towards herself, slowly.  Step by step, she made her way closer.

_Jean!  Stop!_

She whirled around, as her darker counterpart sneered with disdain.  There, standing before them on his own two feet was Professor Charles Xavier.

The flames suddenly flowed forward, around Jean, to wrap in a tight circle around the elder telepath, though he stubbornly ignore them, his gaze focused on the two Jeans as he reached out a hand to the first.

"Jean... come back... you don't need to become what you aren't," he said.  "You control this power within you, it does not control you!"

The darker Jean growled angrily, telekinetically pushing her lighter counterpart out of the way to slam against some lockers.  The flames wrapped around her tightly, preventing her from moving as she slumped to the ground.  Angrily, the dark Jean lifted herself up into the air and floated towards Xavier with a look of menace in her green eyes.

"Your power does not compare to mine, old man," she said, lifting her hand and having Xavier lifted up to follow it, floating in the air as if suspended by invisible wires.  "You cannot defeat me," she said.  To her surprised, Professor X only smirked in response.

"That's why I brought some help," replied Xavier.

A bright red bolt of light lanced out from the nearby corridor, slamming full into the darker Jean's chest and sending her flying through the air, slamming into adjacent wall painfully.  Jean and Xavier both turned as Xavier dropped back down onto his two legs.  There stood Scott, in full battle uniform, his visor on.  His hand rested on the side of his visor, and he clearly meant business as he addressed the darker version of his girlfriend.

"Leave Jean alone!"

The dark Jean growled angrily, a sound rarely heard from her lighter counterpart and rose to her feet, uninjured.  Normally Scott's optic blasts would've kept her down for a last a few minutes, but she looked like the blast hadn't even scratched her.  Instead she only looked enraged.  How?  How could he have...?

Then she saw it.  A thin, transparent blue line, not visible to non-telepaths.  Jean and Xavier could see it as well.  It ran right between Jean and Scott.  That damnable link!  Xavier had used the link shared between them to bring the boy into her dream to help her!

"Very clever, Xavier," stated the dark counterpart as she rose into the air.  Scott, seeing she was about to attack, shot another optic blast, but this time she was prepared.  It bounce harmlessly off a TK shield erected.  Then, she knocked both Xavier and Scott against the far wall, keeping them pinned their with her telekinetic powers.

_Jean... Jean...!_

"Ignore them," stated the dark Jean as she dropped down alongside her light counterpart, offering her a hand up.  "All the power, it is yours, to use as you please..."

_She speaks only half-truths, Jean_, stated Professor X, exercising his telepathic powers as he tried to get through to her.  _That power is already yours, and I know you.  You were one of my first students, I know you are not truly evil._

"Be silent!" roared the dark Jean, sending another telekinetic wave to slam into Scott and Xavier, hammering them painfully against the wall.  Suddenly it dropped however, and the dark Jean turned to stare as her counterpart rose to her feet, her eyes clear of doubt or confusion.  Instead they were filled with righteous fury.

"Leave them alone!" shouted Jean, as she thrust out her hands and her darker counter part was knocked flying back, barely able to catch herself in time and float back to her feet, snarling.

"Nooooo!!!" howled the dark Jean, as her power left her, returning to its true owner, and she was revealed for what she truly was.  Nothing.  No more than a shadow in Jean's mind.  The necessary balance of dark and light.  True, her thoughts were real.  Any person, no matter how good, contemplated such things in their life.  To act on them was another matter.  And now that the real, true Jean Grey had realized this, her dark self was nothing, and was sent howling back into the recesses of her mind.

Jean Grey gently gestured, and the flames died down, and Scott and Xavier both made their way over to her, Scott in a warm hug, Xavier with a bit more composure.

"This isn't real, is it Professor?" asked Jean, hugging Scott back, glancing over at her mentor.

_Not as such no.  But there was a real danger we could have lost you, Jean.  And there is a danger we could lose the others as well.  They are all suffering as you and Scott have been_, he said, sighing gently.  Helping his students fight their own nightmares was starting to weigh on Xavier.  Though not physically fatigued, his mental powers were starting to diminish just a little.  He did not mention this, however, not wanting to worry the others.

"Let's go then," replied Jean, and Scott nodded in agreement.  Xavier nodded, and together they moved on to the next dreamer.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They swarmed her from all angles, but Rogue made no effort to struggle against them.  She deserved it, ultimately.  She'd destroyed them, after all.  Leeched the life from their bodies and sent them to the grave as effectively as the Grim Reaper.  It was only fair they be allowed to end her life as well.  At least now she could rest peacefully.

Suddenly an optic blast tore through the ranks of flesh, bone and decaying clothes, knocking back several of the zombified version of her victims, even as the Mystique snakes were torn from her body and flung into a nearby tombstone.  They quickly merged back into her full, true form, though she too was dead and partially decayed.  Rogue turned, watching in amazement as a second Scott and Jean, as well as Professor Xavier appeared in the graveyard, standing their with a determined look.  To her surprise, they weren't zombies.  They alive, flesh and blood.  Jean and Scott wore their uniforms, and the Professor was walking.

"Rogue!  We're here to rescue you...!" said Scott, hand on his visor, eyeing the other zombies as they advanced cautiously towards Rogue's supposed saviors.  She ignored them, sinking to her knees against one of the gravestones.

"Just get out of here," said Rogue sullenly.  "Leave me," she added.

"Rogue!  This isn't real!  Its all in your head!" shouted Jean, as she started to advance upon the growing throng of zombie mutants and humans, recognizing them as those Rogue had absorbed.

"Of course it all in mah head!" shouted Rogue, tears streaming down her cheeks.  "Ah killed 'em all"

_Rogue.  This is your mind_, said Profesor X, speaking telepathically.  _You are the one who is in charge here, and these are not the people you have absorbed.  These are copies.  They aren't real, any more real than a dream.  Your mind is yours alone._

"It's not true... its just useless sayings, Prof..." she started to protest feebly, knowing he could hear her despite the distance between them and the growing throng of zombies, who were converging very close on Jean and Scott now.

_It is true.  Scott and Jean are now here by your side, fighting you.  These_, he added, directing her attention the zombie versions of her friends.  _These are not real.  And they have no power over you.  Your mind is your own.  Rogue, we are in danger here, and only you can help us._

"Then get out of here!" shouted Rogue, angrily, tears continuing to stream down her cheeks as she addressed her latest statement to Scott and Jean.

"We're not leaving you Rogue!" shouted Scott, unleashing an optic blast and knocking back the zombie-Juggernaut, though it continued its relentless advance.

"You're our friend!" added Jean, throwing away two punks from Bayville High Rogue had accidently absorbed.  Like the Juggernaut, they too soon rose again, and continued to swarm Rogue's friends.

Rogue sank to her knees, praying for death, praying for an answer.  And it came to her.  She deserved this, perhaps, but her friends didn't.  And it was true, as Xavier had said.  This was her mind, with her rules.  Rogue stood to her feet, closing her eyes, and concentrated.  Her clothes shimmered, shifted, and transformed into the X-Man uniform she was proud to wear.

"Leave them alone," she said quietly, though her voice could have been Sabertooth's full-throated roar for the effect it had.  All eyes, living and dead, turned to her.

Then all hell broke loose.

The majority of the mutant zombies, including Magneto and the Juggernaut, swarmed over to attack Rogue, even as she took up a defensive stance to finally start to fight them off.  Another batch, including the Blob and Sabertooth, swarmed Jean, Scott, and the Professor, though they were unable to penetrated Jean's telekinetic shield.  And Scott's optic blasts made quick work of them.  Unlike before, those hit immediately disintegrated into ash, blown away by the breeze that swept through the graveyard.  The mists parted, and finally the sun fell down upon the field.

Rogue grabbed onto the Juggernaut and Magneto with her bare hands, watching them disintegrated into ash as well, as their power surged within her.  Rogue lifted herself up into the air, her expression grim, as she swooped down, slamming her fists back and forth, shattering zombies and sending them back to the grave.  Finally, in the end, Rogue stood victorious before her friends, a smile finally plastered onto her lips as the sun shined down on them.

"Well, what's next?" she asked in her southern drawl, a smirk dancing on her lips.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

Three down, twelve to go.  And the nightmare starts to lift.  Finally, Professor X's powerful mind becomes useful.  And he's getting back up with the other telepaths and those they've forged psionic links with.

Kinomi: More Bobby at the end.  This is a core X-Men fic.

Comethime: More artwork for a little romance between Tabitha and Amara, my favorite XME lesbian couple?  Sounds good to me.  You have yourself a deal.

Rogue14: Of course it was Moonstar.  And Mesmero.  Aren't I just evil?

Todd fan: Of course, glad you like.  But you shouldn't cheer her... save that for the end.  You'll see why. *evil grin*

Lupine Draconis: Glad I am to have such a loyal reader.

Snitter in Rivendell: Oh you like the nightmares I've selected to torment the X-Men?  Excellent.  I did try and keep the nightmares in character.  Also glad I could make you feel, however, briefly, frightened.  Just curious though, how high does that angst bar go?  You can thank X23's Brother for the idea of Sam's nightmare, but Ray's I had to make up mostly.

Elrohirthewriter: 'fraid not.  I considered him controlling Danielle, but Mesmero just makes more sense.  He has more motivation to destroy them all.

ManniElf18: It will come soon enough.  I am hoping to finish this story before Halloween Night.  And not many chapters left to go.


	7. VII

"What are you doing Mother?!  Amanda is innocent, she does not deserve to be here!" shouted Kurt angrily, turning on his demonic mother.  To his surprise, Mystique only laughed.

"Of course she does, my son... I'm very proud of your work," she replied wickedly.

"What?!"

"You've forgotten?" asked Mystique, tilting her horned head to one side.  "Oh I see, you must've forced yourself to forget to make your mission easier... allow me to explain.  Because you seduced the girl..."

"Her name is Amanda!" roared Nightcrawler, clenching his hands into fists, even as his sharp nails dug into his palms.

"-Amanda-," repeated Mystique, humoring her son.  "Because she fell in love with a demon, is doomed to remain here as well.  It is always so delicious irony indeed to have the mighty fall so low."

"No!" shouted Kurt.  He turned back to watch Amanda, who was squirming against her bonds as the red demons advanced upon her.  "Let her go!  I'll stay, just let her go!  She doesn't belong to be here!"

"She does now," replied Mystique, giving an wickedly evil laugh, tilting his head back.  Kurt watched in utter horror, and instinctively started to pray for salvation.  Not for himself.  He didn't deserve it, he was a demon.  For Amanda.

"Now she spends an eternity in the flaming depths of Hell!" cackled Mystique.  But her laugh was cut short this time.  A bright blue flash appeared, a rip in the air, and all eyes, including the two blue demons, all the red ones, and Amanda, were drawn towards it.  The tear ripped open, and out dropped two figures.  The Professor, dropped down onto the rocks beneath them, somehow able to stand.  But Rogue, the other figure, ripped through the air as fast as a bullet from a gun, heading straight towards Mystique.

"Put a sock in it, Momma!" she shouted, slamming her fist into the blue scaled face of her mother, sending the unholy bitch flying through the air to slam into a nearby rock oncropping.  The absorbed powers of Magneto and the Juggernaut remained with her for the moment, though she doubted it would last for much longer.  She could already feel Magneto's power starting to fade, as she dropped down onto the rocks next to Kurt, trying to ignore the thick stench of sulfur in the air.

"Rogue?  What're you all doing here?!" asked Kurt.  "Get out of here!  I'm the only one who needs to stay," he added bitterly.

"This ain't hell, bro..." she replied.  "And we ain't abandonin' ya."

"Get Amanda out of here first then!" he shouted, scooting away from her, not wanting his sister to be corrupted by him like his girlfriend.

_That isn't Amanda, Kurt_, said the Professor, speaking through straight to his mind.  _Look careful at what I shall now show you..._ he added.  As he did, Kurt blinked his eyes, and as he did he saw thin blue energy lines connected between those present.  From Xavier, to Jean to Scott to Rogue and even to himself.  Some were thin, like his own to Xavier.  The one that flowed between Rogue and the Professor was stronger.  But the one between himself and Rogue was thick and powerful.  It was a strong bond only siblings had (adopted or not).  Yet nothing touched either Amanda, Mystique, or any of the demons present.  Then, the lines vanished.

_They are not connected because neither of them are real.  They are creations of your mind, Kurt.  This is all an elaborate nightmare._

"A nightmare... then... I'm not.... ahhhhh..." he cried out again softly, but not in pain this time.  In relief, as his wings receded into his back, as did his claws and talons.  Even the horns slid back into his skull painlessly, and with relief he patted his now bare (if furry) forehead.

_Welcome back Kurt._

"I'm not... I'm not a demon..."

"Only an annoying brother," replied Rogue, giving Kurt a hug.  "Come on... we gotta save the others."

"I am not yet beaten!" roared Mystique, rising up, her body shifting, growing.  A great, gigantic purple dionsaur-dragon flowed above them now, roaring as the X-Men took up defensive positions.  The red demons surged around beneath them, climbing the rocks, encircling them.  "DIE!!"

Rogue leapt in front of Kurt, blocking the clawed hand heading down towards her with her gloved hands, pushing it away with what remained of the Juggernauts power.

_Kurt.  This is your mind.  Your power here is the strongest._

"I understand," he replied.  Slowly he stretched out his hand.  His clothes shifted, becoming his X-Man uniform.  And then, in his hand, he formed a cutlass.  With a grin, he raised it in salute to the demonic version of his mother.

"Goodbye, Muzzer!" he said as he teleporting, appearing above her head, and diving downwards, slashing clear through her with his sword, as she split in two and disappaited into the flaming nothiness of hell.  Kurt flipped, twirled, and landed with acrobatic grace with a low bow before the other X-Men.

"Vell... zat vas fun.  Vhat's next?" he asked, sheathing the cutlass at his side.  As he did, it disappated into mist.

"We still have to rescue the others," replied Xavier.

"Just lead the vay!" he replied happily, a grin plastered on the blue elf's features.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kitty screamed, long and loud, as she plummeted towards the earth's core, until her body painfully slammed into a rocky outgrowth, and she barely managed to hang on before her body went careening over the edge.  Grimacing, painfully aware of the left arm she'd fallen on, she shifted into a sitting position, glad she'd been able to halt her horrible fall.

"Awww, is pretty kitty hurt?  Let me kiss it and make it all better..." said Avalanche, as his form slipped out of the rocky wall next to her, solidifying into a stone version of himself.  Kitty instinctively lashed out with her foot, hoping to dent his shin, but her boot slid through his leg, leaving no mark as she phased.  However, when she tried to do the same it failed, and Avalanched struck her across the cheek, sending her reeling to the edge of her already tiny ledge.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" roared another voice, and Avalanche barely had time to glance up before a fist slammed right into his face, sending him against the wall and shattering his body.  The stone fragments clattered to the ground, as his face careened off the edge and fell into the nothingness below.  Kitty glanced up, gasping in shock.

It was Lance, but not the demonic version who'd sent her here.  That one had been made of nothing more than rock and evil.  This one was flesh, and he gazed down at her with nothing short of concern in his warm brown eyes.  He held out a hand to her, and she noticed he was in his battle uniform, sans his helmet.  His knuckles were bleeding from where he'd attacked his darker self.

"Lance?  What... what're you doing here?" she asked, scooting away from him fearfully.

"Kitty its okay... Jean brought me here... I'm here to help," he added, still holding out his hand.  A shadow passed overhead and Kitty glanced up.  Sure enough, there was Jean, floating in mid-air as she usually did.

"Kitty its alright, its just a dream... but Lance and I are real... just come with us, we're getting out of here.  The Professor and the others are still helping the others," she shouted down at them.

"But... how did you get here?" asked Kitty, as she finally accepted Lance's hand.  He helped her to her feet, smiling now that she was safe.

"Jean said I had some sort of bond with you... that the bond allowed her to bring people from their own dreams into other people's.  I, uh... I guess... well," he started to stutter, blushing, and Kitty giggled.  Some things never changed.  She hugged Lance, burrying her head into his chest and strong arms.

"Thank you, Lance," she said softly.

Suddenly the ground started to shift again, and below them came the wicked, dark laughter of the Avalanche.  The dark Lance, the dream one.  The area started to shift, the walls closing shut on one another, and with a cry Kitty realized they were going to be crushed.  Jean thrust out her hands, lifting the two of them up as all three raced towards the surface.  Still, it was a long way up.  And burdened by two passengers, Jean's powers started to flag as they neared the surface.

Angrily Lance thrust out his hand, and the ground slowed, the shaking diminishing.  But his power here was limited, and Kitty's fears were too strong.

But so was her love of her friends.

The ground sealed shut at the surface, with all three burried below.

And then the three of them slid upwards and out of the solid ground as Kitty and Lance let  go of Jean's waist, dropping to the ground as they became solid once more.  Kitty collapsed into Lance's arms, unconscious, tired from the desperate move of phasing them all out of the earth.

"I wish I could help more, Red," said Lance, as he cradled Kitty's head in his hands.  "But I don't think I can..."

"'fraid not," she replied, drifting down to join them.  "Without a bond between others I can't bring you in... but now Kitty's safe, so I can return you to your own mind."

"Thanks," he replied, as Jean opened a bright blue rift, and Lance walked through it, sparing one final glance over his shoulder at Kitty.  She was dreaming peacefully.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gradually, Ororo's cries for help died down, and she wept, fearful no one would ever find her in her tomb.  She struggled feebly against the stone lid and the bandages that enwrapped her form, but she could barely breath in here, it was so close.  And oxygen was slowly starting to diminish.  She was going to die, with no one to save her.

Suddenly the lid above her shifted, and she seized onto this new hope, beating against it furiously, as hands slid the lid off and she saw the tired, weary face of Charles Xavier.  She almost sobbed in relief.  Quickly his hands tore from her the bandages that bound her arms and legs, helping her to sit up as she ripped them from her mouth, greedily sucking air into her tortured lungs.

"Relax, Ororo... everything will be fine now," he said, patting her back gently.  She made no response, too busy trying to collect herself.  But to her relief, she saw the stone passage was open, and beyond that... clear skies and sunlight.  She almost fainted from relief.  Gently, Charles helped her climb out of her sarcophagus, supporting her with one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulder, helping her to stand as they made their way to the open skies and out of her nightmarish tomb.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One by one, the X-Men started to sit up, clutching their heads in pain or relief, as their eyes opened.  The heart rate monitor for Kitty went back to normal levels, and she was sleeping peacefully.  Hank, nearby, smiled, as they came out of their dreams.  Professor Xavier and Jean Grey, both deep in concentration, continued to liberate them from their awful nightmares, working slowly but steadily.  In a short while it would all be over.

Logan was frowning though.  They weren't out of the woods yet.  Not by a long shot.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is happening?" cursed Mesmero, glancing at his unwitting pawn.  The X-Men were starting to overpower her mental block.  He needed to move them closer for her powers to amplify enough to destroy them.

Growling, Mesmero beckoned Danielle to stand, as the two of them scaled the walls of the Xavier Institute, making their way towards the foyer.  Only Xavier would be any possible threat, and he was already weakening from his efforts.  Easy prey for the mind of Mesmero.

Slowly, the two shadowed figures approached the Institute.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

Three more down, and now only New Recruits to go.  For the record, I shall explain.  Professor X and Jean Grey can enter anyone's dreams because they are telepaths.  Also, if that person has a strong bond with someone who is a non-telepath (i.e. Scott and Jean in love, Kurt and Rogue as siblings, etc.) then once a link is made by the Prof or Jean, then they can come along as well for moral (and physical) support.  Big ending coming up.  And two more terrible nightmares to go.

Todd fan: Oh not at all.  That'd be hardly any reason to cheer now, would it? *evil smirk*

Steven P. P: Glad you like it.  Expect other Holiday stories as appropriate for the upcoming months.

Lupine Draconis: I'm playing upon the bonds between X-Men.  Scott had to come before Rogue, and likely he'd want to rescue Jean first.  But yeah, part of me would've rather just left Jean in her nightmare.

Rogue14: I'm not evil yet... I am about to be REALLY evil.

Snitter in Rivendell: Hope that wasn't too repetitive for ya.  Don't worry, I got somethin' really special cooked up for the finale.  And if you recall, nobody has any actual evidence yet it is Mesmero or Mirage.  It's just Logan's theory.

Shaman Dani of the Flamingos: Glad you like it.  And I love that rather long and compelling name of yours.  Odd how you're name after a mutant... how's that workin' out for ya?

Elven lord mic: Well thank you, I shall indeed rock on.  I am sure you can find Ascension part II on KazaA in a few days.  However, if desperate for something quick, the final scene, involving Xavier's predictions for the future, are present on Beyond Evolution.  Check it out.  Though you may not be a Scott/Rogue fan, I hope you're not a Jean fan. *evil smirk*


	8. VIII

*snickt*

"I know that scent..." grumbled Logan as he made his way to the door.  Scott paused, turning to follow him, but decided against it.  Jean and the Professor still might have need of him and the others.  Thus, Logan went alone, as he marched into the elevator and made his way back to the surface, arms crossed as he waited.  State-of-the-art equipment and the elevators still took nearly ten minutes between levels.  What a world.

Mesmero.  He sniffed again.  And Mirage, no less.  So, he was using her to get to the X-Men.  Tricky bastard.  Logan popped the claws on his other hand, determined to rip the circus freak to shreds the instant he found him.  Since he caught his scent he must've been closer by now.  Probably realized that Xavier and Jean were breaking apart his little mind-games and had moved in to take control.  Big mistake.

Three very big, sharp adamantium claw mistakes.

The door slid open, and Wolverine's eyes opened wide.

This wasn't the Institute's hallways, with the smooth, beige walls and various collections of art statues and paintings.  These were dank, iron walls, coated in a thin lay of moisture and slime.  The air was unnaturally cold, and the little light was pale, giving no illusion of warmth.  These were not the halls of the Institute.  These were the hallways of... the installation in the Canadian Wilderness.  Where the Weapon X program had been run.

Wolverine stepped forward, slowly, cautiously.

"I don't scare that easily," he remarked to no one in particular, knowing Mirage and possibly Mesmero could hear him.  They were trying to stop him from reaching them.

_Wonderful news, animal_, came the telepathic voice of Mesmero.  Because of Professor X's mental shield (still in place after many months) Mesmero could do nothing more than speak to him, but Mirage had no such restriction.  Especially because her powers focused on the subconscious mind, not the conscious one.  _The harder to crack, the sweeter the snack_.

"I ain't a nut," replied Logan, making his way forward despite his every instinct to run.  It was all real, his senses told him.  He was back in the Weapon X compound.  The sight he saw in the main lab (the foyer as far as he could reason) only confirmed what his senses told him.

"Ah good... welcome home, Wolverine," stated Colonel Wraith, grinning wickedly, his green goggles glinting in the eerie light.  "We've been expecting you," he added, indicating the shadowy figure behind him.  The gigantic figure stepped into view, grinning as well, his sharp canine's visible.  Sabertooth.

Instinctively Wolverine raised his fists, but his claws were gone as if they had never been.  Sabertooth made his way over to him, grinning evilly, holding up his hand, and upon his sharp claws glinted the unmistakable metal adamantium.  "Now I can finish you off!" roared Sabertooth, slashing at Logan, who ducked and rolled away from the much larger opponent, diving for Colonel Wraith, who stepped aside and behind the glass containment tube in the center of the room.  Sabertooth lunged at Wolverine, but Wolverine ducked again, dodging underneath his guard and slamming his shoulder into the larger man's gut.  Sabertooth didn't even flinch.  Wolverine was grabbed and tossed aside like so much refuse, slamming into a table full of beakers, letting them scatter all over the floor, glass shards flying everywhere.

Several sank into his forearm, painfully... painfully... pain...

The pain distracted Logan, allowing his senses time to adjust, and when Sabertooth next lunged at him he artfully grabbed the behemoth by the neck and slammed him into the wall behind him, holding his fist up against the brute's face.  His arm was a full foot away, and if his claws had been out, they'd right now be pressed against Sabertooth's throat.  If it really was Sabertooth.  Logan's scent told him otherwise.

"Drop it... or I skewer you," he growled angrily.  Slowly, reluctantly, the false reality faded, and Wolverine was left holding Mesmero by his purple robes, his claws pressed against the tattoed fools throat.  Nearby, Colonel Wraith faded as well, replaced by a dark-haired native american with a vacant gaze.  The overturned table and shattered vials had been only a broken end table.  Wolverine could feel splinters in his arm, but his healing factor was already pushing them out, even as the wound sealed over.

"Now let her go," he demanded, giving Mesmero a rough shake.  Mesmero growled, sending a psionic blast at Wolverine, but he just pressed the tips of his adamantium claws closer, breaking the skin and drawing a faint line of blood.  Finally, the mindbender gave in.

Danielle Moonstar blinked her eyes once, twice, and finally a sense of life returned to them as she looked around in confusion.  "Wha...?  What happened?  How did I end up here?" she asked.  Then she caught sight of Logan and Mesmero.

"You!" she shouted, pointing directly at Mesmero.  Her eyes flashed angrily, and Mesmero sank back against the wall fearfully.  Suddenly their was a flash, and his world went dark.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mesmero floated in a dark void, all around were shadows.  But no sign of Logan or Danielle, thankfully.  He was safe at last.  Now he could return and find a new plan to elminate those cursed X-Men...

"MESMERO!" came a dark, dangerous voice.  Mesmero instantly felt his entire body go numb.  He knew that voice as well as he knew his own.  It did not so much yell so much as project itself, and he could feel the anger and hatred laced into each and every syllable.

Slowly he turned around, and there, floating in the void, was his lord and master, the dread Apocalypse.  And he didn't look pleased.

"YOU SNIVLING, USELESS FOOL!" stated Apocalypse, his body growing until he towered over Mesmero, his hand now big enough to crush the cowering Mindbender in a single move now.  "YOU HAVE FAILED ME!"

"No, my lord Apocalypse," said Mesmero, dropping to his knees.  "Please, I beg of you... allow me another chance... I..."

"IN THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST THERE ARE NO SECOND CHANCES," replied Apocalypse, holding out his hand towards Mesmero.  "AND YOU HAVE FAILED ME FOR THE LAST TIME!!"

Apocalypse's fingers clenched, and Mesmero found himself drawn through the air towards his dread master, try as he did to escape.  His body was engulfed by glowing energy, the same that surrounded by Magneto, and he screamed as his body was torn to pieces...

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mesmero bolted off screaming, running for all he was worth, not even bothering to open the glass pain windows as he leapt straight through them.  The glass shattered everywhere, but it didn't slow the tattooed mutant as he ran across the Institute grounds and off into the night.  Danielle and Logan watched him go.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" asked Danielle.

"Nah, I'll track him down later... right now I got bigger concerns... like the students," he replied, making his way back up the stairs.  The elevator opened, and there stood the X-Men, in full battle uniforms, awake and ready to go.  Even Xavier and Hank had joined them.  Understandably, they were a little embarassed to find their problem had already been taken care of.

"Mesmero is gone?" asked Jean quietly.  The long night and all its work was taking its toll on Xavier, but she too was very tired from her working saving the others.

"Yup... Danielle gave him a taste of his own medicine," replied Logan with a smirk.  "Now if you all will excuse me, its late... and way past your bedtimes," he added, as he made his way to his own room and fell asleep on his bed, not even bothering to change.  Exhausted, he drifted off to sleep, which was thankfully free of nightmares.

"Alright you guys heard Logan!  Everybody to bed," said Scott, once more in his leader-mode.  Grumbling, most of the students complied with his request, as well as the adults who'd been up all night working to save them.  And thus, the Institute fell back into a quiet, peaceful slumber.  Danielle boarded up with Kitty for the night, said she could return home in the morning.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning finally rose on the Xavier Institute, as the students therein climbed out of bed and resumed their normal morning activities.  Logan, Hank, and the Professor had elected to sleep in, but Ororo was up early, making her world famous pancakes for the students to enjoy.

Jamie was with her, also up early, his many duplicates running back and forth to get her the ingredients she needed and helping to set up the table with plates and utensils.  He was glad to be with her, though anyone would've done.  After last night's dream he was almost afraid to go to bed alone, but thankfully Ororo had understood and offered him a place in her own room, curled up on the floor.  She was such a nice lady.

They weren't the only two that had slept in the same room to find comfort, however.  After the strange dreams, it seemed like most of those present had sought out someone else.  Jean and Scott had fallen asleep on the couch in the foyer, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.  Kurt hadn't even fallen asleep yet.  He was outside at his private, personal church, talking to God.  It helped to ease his soul over the disturbing images he'd seen.

Tabitha and Amara had spent the night together as well.  Tabitha had come to her former roommate and asked if she could join her, after all they'd been through.  Thankfully, she'd agreed, and Tabitha spent the night in the warm embrace of covers and dark-skinned arms.  Nothing happened, they'd just hugged, but it was enough to comfort Tabby.

After breakfast began the usual rush to find backpacks and homework before the next day which was, unfortunately, not a holiday.  Jamie, Jubilee and Rahne, the youngest present, were pouring over their candy stashes from last night and trading (Jamie found he didn't like chocolate, said it was too sweet) and swapping bars and packs with one another.  This would be, unfortunately, before Jubilee and Rahne took their respective trips home.

The phone was nonstop busy, as the students kept calling friends and family to make sure they were alright and such.  Kitty in particular gave a heartfelt thanks to Lance, and Sam of course had to check on his little sister Paige and their family.  About the only person who didn't call was Tabby, who would've been quite content if her dad was someone's girlfriend in jail.  Ray also made no calls, but he decided that sometime soon he would have to speak to the Morlocks.  Maybe Evan could help so they wouldn't rip him to pieces.  He owed them an apology, he guessed.

Finally, all said and done, Logan woke, refreshed, his body rejuvenated after only a short few hours of sleep.  He grabbed Jubilee, Rahne and Danielle to take them home as the others bid them farewell, and then they returned to their lives.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere, in Cairo.

Mesmero flinched again, glancing at the darkened corner of his tent, but thankfully it was nothing.  Damnable noises, always distracting him from his work.  What was that?!  Oooh... just the wind...

"Curse those infernal X-Men.  And Mirage as well.  I will have my revenge on all of them... and prove myself to Apocalypse!" he gloated to himself.  However, as he spoke, his eyes grew wide, and he watched fearfully as the tent shifted.  He grabbed his power-staff, but thankfully all that emerged from the bottom was a little rat.  Angry at his own fearful behavior he blasted the rat into pieces.

And so it went on, day after day, night after night.  He could barely sleep, always something would distract and awaken him.  And worse, when he did... his dread lord was always there to punish him in his dreams.

He would never be able to rest... until he destroyed the X-Men.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Author's Notes:**

Happy Halloween!  Hope you all enjoyed my lastest story (not too sure I did though, seemed half-baked to me) and the many future stories to come.  Kurt's private church was a small nod to Internutter, for info on it best read her stories.  I rather like the idea.

Mannielf18: There ya go.  Kurt saved, Mesmero defeated.  Big happy ending.

Elrohirthewriter: He'll find a way.

Snitter in Rivendell: I agree totally, the rescues were way to easy.  But in addition to not wanting another thirty chapter story, I wanted this done in time for Halloween.  Next time I should focus on just one mutant, make it harder.  That'd be a better idea, methinks.

Beenieweenie: Glad you like it, and I hope you liked the last bit most of all.  If there's one thing I love its ironic justice.

Optic Red: I agree, Ghost of a Chance was good, but there was so much potential they failed to unlock.  Still, that was creepy stuff the first time I watched it.  I kept asking myself what the heck was going on.

Steven P.P: Yeah me too.  Especially after Lance and Kitty got back together in Ascension, it was sweet.  I hope my finale did not disappoint, but like I told Snitter I'm disappointed by the easy rescues too.  Ah well.

Rogue14: *points to poor Mesmero* That evil enough for ya?

Zoken: Again I can't take credit for those two, they were inspired by the Son of Logan and Ororo.  Still, I hope I wrote them well.

Todd fan: Now you can applaud for Danielle.  Or did you not think she did quite a number on Mesmero?  Hehe.

Scribbler: Sorry Scribbler, I know you're a New Recruits fan, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  It would've made my story even more repetitive.  But I hope you liked the cute scenes with them afterwards.  I try not to ignore them.

Lupine Draconis: Wonderful.  Always glad to know I have such devoted fans.

ManniElf18: Glad you liked it.  I think those team bonds are what truly define the X-Men, so I tried to use that in my story.  I hoped you liked the ending.

Elrohirthewriter: As you can see, she doesn't get a chance.  Though if she had, methinks Lucas and Juggrenaut tag-teaming him, or all his dreams being destroy.  Meh.  Maybe another time.


End file.
